US comedian Jimmy Kimmel will return to his late-night talk show on Tuesday after he was suspended for making jokes relating to the death of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
Disney, which owns the US broadcast network that airs Jimmy Kimmel Live, said on Monday that it suspended the show because it felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive.
We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday, Disney stated.
The comic's abrupt suspension came after threats from the federal TV regulator to revoke ABC's broadcast license, igniting nationwide debates over free speech.
US President Donald Trump welcomed Kimmel's suspension and suggested that some TV networks should have their licenses taken away for negative coverage of him. Trump did not address Kimmel's reinstatement when asked about it during a White House event on Monday.
Sinclair, the largest ABC affiliate group in the US, announced it will replace Jimmy Kimmel Live! with news programming across its ABC affiliate stations from Tuesday, adding that discussions with ABC are ongoing as they evaluate Kimmel's potential return.
Sinclair previously called Kimmel's remarks inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country and insisted it would not lift the suspension before formal discussions with ABC.
Nexstar Media, another major television station owner, declared last week it would not air Kimmel's show for the foreseeable future but has yet to comment on his reinstatement.
Critics and First Amendment advocates condemned ABC's suspension of Kimmel as censorship. Kimmel, who has hosted the show since 2003, has not publicly addressed the fallout from his suspension.
The controversy erupted after Kimmel's monologue on September 15, in which he commented on the response to Kirk's death and mocked Trump's reactions. These remarks led to threats from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, further escalating the situation.
During this spate of events, Vice President JD Vance and others have pushed a national campaign to punish critics of Kirk, adding complexity to the ongoing free speech debate.
Following Carr's comments and Nexstar's reaction, Sinclair announced it would replace Kimmel's show, and ABC's suspension of the program prompted widespread protests and drawn criticism from various organizations asserting it infringed on free speech rights.
Public figures, including Jon Stewart, John Oliver, and Stephen Colbert, as well as hundreds of celebrities, expressed support for Kimmel, describing his suspension as a dark moment for freedom of speech. Calls to boycott Disney's services have also gained traction among critics opposing the company's actions.
